THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

L’easy listening à la française peut être considéré comme une cure contre l’insomnie, mais Borel transcende le genre de son humour bien Gaulois.
Cet album, sorti chez le label taiwanais High Note Records et mélangeant habilement guitare acoustique, violon et flûte, générera sûrement des fans en Chine. Et pourquoi pas ? Tous ce qui est français semble de plus en plus à la mode ici ces jours-ci. Le ringard aussi. Et c’est vrai que "Oserai-je t'aimer?" surpasse largement la ringardise du très populaire en Chine populaire "Je m'appelle Hélène" d’Hélène Rollès.
Mais pour ceux d’entre vous ne maîtrisant pas la langue de Molière, le romantisme verbal de Borel perd de sa substance. Et c’est bien dommage, car une écoute de près révèle plus que des traits d’esprit ; parfois même les paroles ressemblent à celles de notre génial et regretté Serge Gainsbourg. La voix aussi du collaborateur de Borel, le compositeur Jérémie Lefebvre en backing vocals sur plusieurs titres, rappelle remarquablement Gainsbar. Et Borel de faire preuve sur certaines chansons du même caustique sens de l'humour.
Enfin, l’album contient un titre en anglais, un cover sensuel du « Get Into The Groove » de Madonna chantée avec un bel accent français. Mon dieu !
High Note Records

Version anglaise de l’article publiée dans that’s Shanghai et that’s Guangzhou, Décembre 2005.
La version française n’a pas été publiée.

Re-TROS have been gigging around Beijing for the last two years under the name “Re-establishing the Rights of Statues” before releasing this debut album on the Badhead label – and simplifying their name in the process, thank god. Indeed, simplification best describes their brand of post-punk, reminiscent of late 1970s David Bowie with elements of Joy Division. On Cut-Off!, this neo-punk trio delivers six tracks running thirty minutes: tight, straightforward guitar riffs, un-fussy base lines and solid drumming. Minimalism, however doesn’t necessarily mean minimal quality.
Indeed, the band’s meticulously-polished sound owes a lot to Brian Eno. While on a visit to China in October last year, the legendary producer of David Bowie, U2 and Depeche Mode added color and texture to the Beijing band’s sound and even mixed in some keyboard on a couple of tracks. Nor, for that matter, are the English lyrics simple. Indeed, each song tells a different story. “If the Monkey Becomes the King” refers to the famous novel Journey to the West while alluding to the stupidity of mankind; while “TV Show” offers a somewhat bitter challenge to authority. All said, this release will appeal to the band’s already large following (built on the back of their stunning live performances) but its minimal running time will leave them craving for more.
Modern Sky/Badhead

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue

This compilation from Beijing-based independent label New Bees provides a perfect sampling of what happened in the Chinese music scene last year. Or at least what happened on the New Bees label in 2005. In fact, this release is something of an advertisement for its latest signings with the inclusion of artists’ biographies and links to their websites. So what happened? Not much apparently. Most bands appear to have followed the long-standing formula of emulating their Western idols, be they punk, rock, rap or new wave. Crystal Butterfly for example, owe the title of the successful debut album Magical Mystery Tour to the Beatles and their sound to British pop-rock bands like U2. Chinese vocalist M.I.K., who sings in English, clearly takes his cue from new-wave gloom band, The Cure. Oddly, the last track on this CD, “Stay By My Side” is the real thing, sort of, a country pop tune from Swedish band The Club 8, whose 2005 release Strangely Beautiful peaked at number 18 in US charts. With a total of ten cuts from eight different bands, Indieblog Music may not enlighten anyone on the Chinese alternative-music circle, but it will inform those who are interested about who is influencing whom.
New Bees/available at www.newbeesmusic.com

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue

Singer/songwriter Christopher Peyton has cultivated paradox in both his private life and his music career. Born in the seventies in North-Carolina to a conservative-minded family (Peyton is the son of famous preacher, Wesley Peyton); in 2004, Peyton the son co-hosted the UK TV-show Queer Eye for a Straight Guy, in which five gay men offered lessons in good taste to straight men. While his father might not have approved of the show, the son hasn’t abandoned his roots entirely. Christopher began his career at the age of six as the lead vocalist in his father’s gospel choir. That influence is evident in his eponymous debut album which features a number of pop gospel tracks, but also a few tunes that were designed to get the hips shaking in a lewd manner. “A Higher Place”, for example, went on to become an Ibiza anthem and was played at clubs worldwide. In short, Peyton is not a man you can pin a label on: he’s religious, gay, a night crawler, and intellectual – with a degree in English literature. His lyrics are often autobiographical: “Keep The Faith” speaks of his religious beliefs, “Love’s Going’ On” of his ‘coming out’ and how that affected his relationship with his parents. Like the man himself, Peyton is a mesmerizing and lighthearted CD, a cocktail of gospel, soul, and dance music, influenced by artists such as Seal and The Christians. At the same time, it’s a sensitive and intense piece of work; one that transcends all the paradoxes of its creator.
High Note

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue

The combined challenge of unauthorized Internet downloads and hard copy piracy rage, has forced a number of music labels to think twice about investing in new acts. As it turns out, reality TV offers a low-cost solution to the problem. Take, for example, the 13-week-long “American Idol” series, which helped develop the connections among small-screens, wannabe stars and record buyers. In the US, the Fox Network show attracted a following that numbered in the millions and turned a few croaking toads into golden-throated princes and princesses of pop. True, there’s nothing of the amphibian about Kelly Clarkson, though we suppose she trained her voice under the shower. At 20, the former Texan waitress won first prize in the first season of American Idol and secured a record deal. Her first single “A Moment Like This” sold 250,000 copies in its first release week, while her debut album Thankful went double platinum. What’s more, her record company saved a bundle in marketing and promotion costs.
Breakaway, Clarkson’s second and more mature CD, marks a parting of ways with the American Idol image. “What you see is not what you get” she sings on one of the self-composed tracks. What you get is an independent woman, á la Sheryl Crow, with unoriginal but effective ballads and pop-rock melodies supported by solid and sorrowful vocals. Breakaway sold five million copies worldwide and proved Clarkson, in an artistic and commercial sense, is more than a flicker on the screen.
Sony-BMG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue

Brit-pop is far too influential in the current Shanghai alternative music scene where many local bands blindly copy UK acts. But having paid their respects for three years, The Sonnet, formed by a group of college students, has found a distinctive sound of its own as evidenced in the debut CD: From The Last Century. Released in September 2005, this CD is named after the eighth track; an instrumental theme for an alternative movie made by local artist, Song Tao. Clearly The Sonnet’s sound is an alternative choice within the Chinese music scene. They blend noise, Brit-pop and American indie rock, with influences as diverse as The Verve, Sonic Youth, Pavement and the Japanese Shiina Ringo.
That said, this quintet does more than duplicate their heroes; they’ve even made cover songs of their own. Placebo’s “Pure Morning” sounds fresh and lively, while “Bless for Pop” proves the band has a gift for writing original and catchy melody. The latter’s English lyrics also reveal how difficult it is to be inventive in a second language. The Sonnet’s forthcoming second album, billed as “; simple, rough and direct,” promises another leap towards experimentation and creativity. Watch this space.
14sh records/ available at www.14sh.com

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

After 15 years of singing about the nation’s malaise, the Californian punk trio Green Day continues to focus its attention on recent US political controversies, a move that is signaled in the CD’s title. American Idiot is Green Day’s seventh album, and a brave departure from previous, less engaged, efforts (eg., “Blood, Sex and Booze” from Warning released in 2000). On this release, this trio of malcontents denounces everything from mass hysteria to the media, political propaganda to “redneck agendas”. Other targets include: the Bush administration, organized religion, war, terrorism… the list goes on. If political polemic isn’t your thing, you can still enjoy their vivifying brand of music. The band, mostly famous for the hit “Basket Case” (Dookie, 1994), has polished their punk to a soft glow on “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”; they go for the pop gold on “Give Me Novacaine”. Quite a change from the loud noise tradition of 1970s UK punk music that marked their previous releases. Nevertheless, on several cuts, the East Bay enfants terribles still voice their anger through three-chord guitar riffs and lyrics written with vitriolic ink. And it’s been a success with fans and critics alike. Amercian Idiot won the Best Rock Album Grammy award in 2004 and has sold ten million copies worldwide. Punks getting rich may sound idiotic, but it’s not stupid.
WEA International

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue